Tag: books

MG fantasy or not?

- Stacy

No one can read every book out there, especially people who are extremely busy. One can try, though–hence my trying to make a list of great middle grade fantasy. I haven’t read every book on that list, but they all come recommended from someone if I haven’t read them and loved them myself, so now I get the chance to start checking them off the list and seeing if I agree!

I just found another stack of books in my extremely large TBR pile, though, and I haven’t read most of them myself, and some of them I’m not even sure if they’re YA or MG. I’m wondering if any of you have read them, and if so, if you’d add them to the list.

  • The Key to Rondo, Emily Rodda (who is the author of the extremely popular Deltora Quest books)
  • The Shadow Thieves, Anne Ursu
  • The Chaos King, Laura Ruby (the ARC I have says 10 and up)
  • The Faerie Wars, Herbie Brennan (I read about half of this a few years ago but a project took my attention away, and I never came back. Would you consider this one MG or YA? Perhaps it fits in the 10 and up category that crosses over?)
  • Book of a Thousand Days, Shannon Hale (the only one on the list I’ve read all the way through. LOVE this book. I wouldn’t count it as strictly middle-grade, especially with a 15-year-old protagonist, but it does make me wonder if it’s a 10 and up kind of book. Though it’s really about the love story, so perhaps I just need to start making a YA list! But right now, concentrate! Middle grade!)
  • The Dreadful Revenge of Ernest Gallen, James Lincoln Collier (this is the author of My Brother Sam Is Dead, which I loved. Does the ghostly voice whispering to the main character constitute fantasy? I’m not sure, given that I haven’t read it myself. Anyone who has read it, please let me know.)
  • The Tygrine Cat, Inbali Iserles
  • The Deep Freeze of Bartholomew Tullock, Alex Williams

And please keep adding to the ever-growing list!

Booklist update

- Stacy

Let’s take a look at what we have so far for our middle-grade fantasy book list. I’ve actually put it in alphabetical order at this point, so we should be able to see anything left out more easily. Forgive any mistakes in alphabetization–this was done very quickly and had to take "the"s into account and I’m not sure it was completely accurate! But at least it’s better than it was.

* A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
A Ring of Endless Light, Madeleine L’Engle
* Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, Brandon Sanderson
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
* Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
Babe: The Gallant Pig, Dick King-Smith
* Babymouse, Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm (strictly speaking, this is a graphic novel, which opens up a can of worms, but it’s so fun!)
, Robin McKinley
Bedknob and Broomstick, Mary Norton
* The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, Lloyd Alexander
* The Borrowers, Mary Norton
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
Chasing Vermeer, Blue Balliet
* Children of Green Knowe, L.M. Boston
Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure, P.B. Kerr
* The Chrestomanci Chronicles, Diana Wynne Jones
Coraline, Neil Gaiman
* The Dalemark Quintet, Diana Wynne Jones
* Dragon Keeper, Carole Wilkinson
* Dragon’s Milk, Susan Fletcher
* Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey (?)
Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine
* Fablehaven, Brandon Mull
* Five Children and It, E. Nesbit (and pretty much anything by E. Nesbit)
The Folk Keeper, Franny Billingsley
Half Magic, Edward Eager
* Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Daniel Pinkwater
* Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones (well… more YA, really, but House of Many Ways is more middle grade, so…)
* Hugo Pepper, Paul Stewart & Chris Riddel
The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks (though perhaps should be phased off any recommendation lists, due to cultural inaccuracies, but it is a title that grabs kids)
* Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
* Into the Wild, Sarah Beth Durst
James & the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl (man, I loved this one in about 3rd or 4th grade)
* Larklight, Philip Reeve
* The Last Apprentice, Joseph Delaney
The Last Dragon, Silvana de Mari
The Light Princess, George MacDonald
* The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
* The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Narnia), C.S. Lewis
* Little Sister, Kara Dalkey
The Magic Thief, Sarah Prineas
Many Waters, Madeleine L’Engle (part of the Wrinkle in Time series, technically, but far enough forward that I kind of count it separately)
* Mary Poppins,
P.L. Travers
May Bird and the Ever After, Jodi Lynn Anderson
* Mister Monday (Keys to the Kingdom), Garth Nix
The Mouse and His Child, Russell Hoban
My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie, David Lubar (ARC, to be published this August)
* The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
Of Mice and Magic, David Farland
* Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper
Penderwicks (is this fantasy? I haven’t read it)
* Pendragon, D.J. MacHale
The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Pope (not technically fantasy, and perhaps YA? But oh so good!) (?)
Peter Pan & Wendy, J.M. Barrie
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
The Power of Three, Diana Wynne Jones
Princess Academy, Shannon Hale
The Princess and the Goblin/The Princess and Curdie, George MacDonald
The Princess Bride (kinda sorta–perhaps more YA?)
* The Princess Tales (Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, etc.), Gail Carson Levine
* Protector of the Small, Tamora Pierce
* Red Dragon Codex, R.D. Henham
* Redwall, Brian Jacques
* The Seeing Stone, Kevin Crossley-Holland
* Skulduggery Pleasant, Derek Landy
Standard Hero Behavior, John David Anderson
* The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm), Michael Buckley (I LOVE this series)
* The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (that’s one that’s on the young end, but still enjoyed by 9-10 year olds)
* The Stink Files, Holm & Hamel
* The Story of the Treasure Seekers, E. Nesbit
Stuart Little, E.B. White
The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
* The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner (would this be YA or middle grade, really? I’m about to read it so will have a better feeling after, of course)
* The 13th Reality, James Dashner
Tom’s Midnight Garden, Phillippa Pearce
The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White
* Vampirates, Justin Somper
* Warriors, Erin Hunter
* The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett
Well WishedThe Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
The Witches, Roald Dahl
* Whales on Stilts, M.T. Anderson
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

In the middle of the middle–and a question

- Stacy

First the question: Can anyone point me to where to find the middle grade children’s literature listserv, equivalent to Child_Lit but for older books? I can’t seem to either remember the name or to figure out where to sign up. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve re-subscribed to Child_Lit since I left Wizards–I had it go to a particular folder and only checked in on it from time to time, and nowadays I’m missing it. Off to subscribe!
Onward with the actual post, however. I’m in the middle of trying to make a list of great middle-grade fantasy books, and find that I’m often looking at my shelf thinking, "What a great book! I’ll include it on the list!" only to realize that no, I’m limiting myself to middle-grade, and that chapter book or YA fantasy just won’t do. Just for the purposes of the list I’m making, mind you!
So. A little help, please? I’m looking for classics, contemporaries, obvious and not-so-obvious books. I’m only listing series by series rather than all the books, to simplify matters. So far, I’ve borrowed from Editorial Anonymous‘s list that we talked about the other day, and also from my grad school syllabi, and from my own personal bookshelves, and previous recommendation lists (which so need to be updated, hence the whole thing today!), but surely even with all of those, I’m forgetting something!
I am including crossover titles. In other words, if it’s a book that has teen characters but is commonly read by middle-graders–Madeleine L’Engle comes to mind–even though it’s often shelved in YA I’m including it. Or if it’s a short chapter book that 7-year-olds might read, but that 9-year-olds enjoy just as much, it’s probably borderline, but I’m going to include it on the list at least at first.
Also, my criteria for "great" is dual-fold (tri-fold?): either great literary, Newbery-worthy writing, or popular with kids/bestselling, or both. Or really, who needs such high expectations? Just really great books for middle-grade kids that have magic, adventure, and a story that hooks kids from the beginning. I don’t want to leave out a good book simply because it’s deemed non-literary or because its sales weren’t high enough or something.
So, here’s my list so far. Feel free to comment on anything I’ve missed, because I fully admit that it’s highly likely I’ve forgotten something obvious! Also note that it’s in no particular order at this point, not even alphabetical.
Series are marked with an asterisk.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
* The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, Lloyd Alexander
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White
Stuart Little, E.B. White
Coraline, Neil Gaiman
* Redwall, Brian Jacques
The Witches, Roald Dahl
* Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
* The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
* Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper
Penderwicks (is this fantasy? I haven’t read it)
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
* The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett
James & the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl (man, I loved this one in about 3rd or 4th grade)
* Whales on Stilts, M.T. Anderson
* Children of Green Knowe, L.M. Boston
Peter Pan & Wendy, J.M. Barrie
Of Mice and Magic, David Farland
*The Last Apprentice, Joseph Delaney
* Dragon’s Milk, Susan Fletcher
Half Magic, Edward Eager
* Red Dragon Codex, R.D. Henham
* Protector of the Small, Tamora Pierce
The Last Dragon, Silvana de Mari
May
Bird and the Ever After
The Magic Thief, Sarah Prineas
* Larklight, Philip Reeve
* The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
* Skulduggery Pleasant, Derek Landy
My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie, David Lubar (ARC, to be published this August)
* The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
* Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, Brandon Sanderson
* The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner (would this be YA or middle grade, really? I’m about to read it so will have a better feeling after, of course)
* The 13th Reality, James Dashner
Standard Hero Behavior, John David Anderson
* The Stink Files, Holm & Hamel
The Power of Three, Diana Wynne Jones
* The Chrestomanci Chronicles, Diana Wynne Jones
* Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
A Ring of Endless Light, Madeleine L’Engle
* A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
* The Sisters Grimm, Michael Buckley (I LOVE this series)
Chasing Vermeer, Blue Balliet
* The Seeing Stone, Kevin Crossley-Holland
* Pendragon, D.J. MacHale
* Warriors, Erin Hunter
* Babymouse, Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm
* Dragon Keeper, Carole Wilkinson
* Hugo Pepper, Paul Stewart & Chris Riddel
* Fablehaven, Brandon Mull
* Into the Wild, Sarah Beth Durst
* Vampirates, Justin Somper
Princess Academy, Shannon Hale
Tom’s Midnight Garden, Phillippa Pearce
Many Waters, Madeleine L’Engle (part of the Wrinkle in Time series, technically, but far enough forward that I kind of count it separately)
Bedknob and Broomstick, Mary Norton
Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine
Beauty, Robin McKinley
* The Princess Tales (Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, etc.), Gail Carson Levine
* Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
* Little Sister, Kara Dalkey
The Princess Bride (kinda sorta–perhaps more YA?)
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Daniel Pinkwater
The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks (though perhaps should be phased off any recommendation lists, due to cultural inaccuracies, but it is a title that grabs kids)
The Mouse and His Child, Russell Hoban
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Pope (not technically fantasy, and perhaps YA? But oh so good!)
* Mister Monday/Keys to the Kingdom, Garth Nix
The Folk Keeper, Franny Billingsley
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
Babe: The Gallant Pig, Dick King-Smith
* Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers
* The Borrowers, Mary Norton
* Five Children and It, E. Nesbit (and pretty much anything by E. Nesbit)
The Princess and the Goblin/The Princes
s and Curdie, George MacDonald
The Light Princess, George MacDonald
Well Wished, Franny Billingsley
* Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones (well… more YA, really, but House of Many Ways is more middle grade, so…)
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
* The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (that’s one that’s on the young end, but still enjoyed by 9-10 year olds)
* The Story of the Treasure Seekers, E. Nesbit
* The Dalemark Quintet, Diana Wynne Jones
* Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure, P.B. Kerr
Recommendations from comments
I’ve got some reading to do!
Stoneflight, Georgess McHargue
* The Mad Scientists’ Club, Bertrand R. Brinley
* Danny Dunn books (?)
* Ranger’s Apprentice
The Name of This Book Is Secret, Pseudonymous Bosch
* Hall Family Chronicles, Jane Langton
Matilda, Roald Dahl
Darkside, Tom Becker
Savvy, Ingrid Law
Eva Ibbotson’s books (I’ve meant to read her stuff for years but haven’t ever gotten around to it)
The True Meaning of Smekday, Adam Rex
The Neverending Story, Michael Ende
A Gift of Magic, Lois Duncan
* What the Witch Left, The Wednesday Witch, The Secret Tree House, Ruth Chew
* Charlie Bone
Nightmare Acad
emy, Dean Lorey (I’ve got this ARC around here somewhere. This is the problem with not having my office finished–I’m not quite sure *where* it is. And not having read it yet, I’d thought it was YA, but hadn’t looked at it hard yet.)
Billy Bones, Christopher Lincoln
* The 39th Clue, Rick Riordan et al.
A Wolf at the Door, Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow (also in The Dark of the Woods)
Swan Sister, Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow
Dreamhunter/Dreamquake, Elizabeth Knox
The Last Unicorn
* The Gammage Cup

Are there handbaskets in children’s literature?

- Stacy

Today Editorial Anonymous both opened a can of worms and used a tag I only remember seeing on Read Roger, “I’m so going to hell,” which i think is appropriate for the topic of trying to make a list of quintessential children’s books due to the possibility, as she explains, that she’s likely to forget something essential and obvious.

I often feel like this myself. I’ve been meaning to do a booklist too, but lack of time for it gets in the way. EdAnon’s booklist will be a joint effort with readers, though, so here’s your opportunity (and mine) to get a good list without having to scour your own personal library and hope that you can remember all the good books you don’t own!

Braaaains

- Stacy

Totally AWESOME zombie movie on SciFi right now. As I watch them devour braaains on mute, because yeah, gross, and I’m too tired to change the channel, some thoughts on my day.

Drove up to Salt Lake with  in what we thought would be light snow, which turned out to be a small, gentle snowstorm and lots of slush and ice on the roads. Oh, it was beautiful. But it was also annoying to drive in. Was going to drop in on a friend up there, but she was snowed in up in Park City, so we’ll catch up later. We did make it to the King’s English bookstore for the first time, and what an awesome children’s room they have! I think every time I go to Salt Lake it’ll be a required stop. It was fun to see signed copies on display from so many of my friends who are local authors, and even a book edited by real life and blogfriend Cheryl (Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, which I’ve been DVRing and have wanted to pick up the book). And the snow coming down lightly in front of the store all lit up in the early evening was quite pretty.

We were getting hungry so we ate at Mazza, a really great Middle Eastern restaurant that my friend Cindy introduced me to last spring when I was out here for World Horror. On to Whole Foods, the nearest one of which is up in that area, to get stuff I can’t find in Utah County (whither the good yogurt smoothies without high fructose corn syrup??) and then it was back on the road to hope we made it back to Happy Valley without incident. It had snowed even more, so I was gripping the wheel a little tight, not because I didn’t think my trusty little CRV couldn’t do it, but because I really need to replace all my tires and probably should have let yedijoda drive her even trustier Pilot.

We had anime night later this evening. We’ve been watching the fan-subbed version of Vampire Knight, the manga of which is out in English here in the States but is far ahead in Japan–and the anime hasn’t been licensed here. I’m hoping it will be, though, because it is GOOD,  and I want. The manga is published here by Viz, and if you want to check it out it’s in any bookstore. Similar vampire story to Twilight, but with a really interesting twist: the humans and vampires live in close proximity in a private school, with Day Class students being protected by Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu, the academy’s guardians, because the Night Class is all vampires. Here’s where the superficial similarities with Twilight come up: those vampires, for some reason, think that Yuki’s blood smells *really* good. Great mystery, great storytelling, and a vampire story I can really get behind. Fascinating characters. Complex, deep storytelling.

I’ve been thinking about Twittering all day, and really, I prefer the long version. Blogging is pretty short when you compare it to a conversation in person, but it’s pretty deep when you compare it to a tweet. Right as I was heading out on my afternoon adventures in snow driving, I happened upon a conversation on NPR’s Science Friday talking about Twitter and other forms of social networking as marketing tools and policy influencers. I do agree that a conversation can begin through the medium, and it’s another way to keep in touch and share interesting ideas, but mostly I’m pretty meh about Twitter so far. Those of you who t
witter, why? What’s the appeal? I’ve had limited conversations with teens I know and it doesn’t seem to be a big thing with them (a very limited sample) the way FB is. What’s your reading on the teen barometer in your area?

On buying books: hardcover vs. paperback

- Stacy

Cherie Priest posted today about her new release–happy book birthday, ! Her post relates to several things I’ve been hearing lately, so I thought I’d put them all together in one goulash of a post.
Laurie Halse Anderson () and other authors are encouraging people to give books for Christmas and other holiday gifts. As their graphic says, books are "Longer lasting than a fruitcake, cheaper than a flat screen, and more fun than a partridge in a pear tree." Consider in your holiday gift-giving to give books.
As you’re considering this, I’d also like to point out that a lot of authors are having a hard time this time of year. Sales dropping off directly affects their income, and many authors have to cut back on things like health insurance, home repairs, and other vital necessities. Scalzi has posted a fundraiser for one such author who was in danger of losing her house–thankfully, people banded together and raised enough money not only for her mortgage payment, but also to help fix her sewer system, which was badly in need of repair. (People are so good to each other in hard times! I recognize that’s not always the case, but when it is, it’s amazing.)
So when you go off to buy a book, seriously consider whether you can fit a hardcover book (or two or three or more) into your budget. Hardcovers are often the place that publishers judge an author’s sales, not to mention that sales within the first few week’s of a hardcover book’s lifetime will determine whether that book stays on chain bookstores’ shelves–which determines whether that author will earn out their advance, be able to pay the bills, etc. etc.
If all you can afford is a paperback or checking the book out from the library, that’s okay. Most authors I talk to would rather have someone read their book than not! But if you do have the money in your budget and would like to support the author being able to write more books, think about getting the hardcover.
For more information on how a hardcover vs. a paperback affects an author’s bottom line, see Brandon Sanderson’s post on the subject. A small sampling:

Well, lets look at the 20,000 people up above who bought that paperback book. If half of them checked it out at the library, and the other half bought the book from Amazon in hardback, the hardback would sell 10,000 copies. (And libraries would order more, but that’s another story.)
Anyway, assuming the royalty for that hardback jumps up at 5000, those same twenty thousand readers have spent roughly the same amount of money as they otherwise would have, yet they would have paid the author $28,000 instead of $10,000. Plus, instead of two worn paperbacks, they have a very nice hardback that will last them for a while. 28k isn’t a huge amount of money, particularly once agent fees and taxes come out, but it’s the beginning of a livable income. Add on some foreign sales, and things start to look bright–particularly for a writer, who is likely doing what he or she loves to do.

Note that Brandon uses some simplified numbers, and doesn’t take into account that publishers *do* give bulk purchasers like Amazon a discount (though they still pay the author the same royalty)–oftentimes, independents can buy a book off Amazon for cheaper than they can get it from the publisher–but he makes some good points. This is where Indiebound comes in–getting a hardcover
from the independents supports a much more sustainable business model, in stores where you can find salespeople who actually know the books they’re selling. But that’s another discussion altogether, and I digress.
Anyway, just some food for thought about possibly making our money stretch further and supporting the artists who make the books we love at the same time.

Let’s talk about marketing your book online

- Stacy

I was at an SCBWI conference a couple weeks ago at which they had a panel of newly published authors do a panel chat about how they got published, and the subject came up of websites and blogs. This is something that I’ve heard a lot of people talk about in the children’s book blogosphere, and the discussion that day brought up the same question for me with these authors.

After all of the authors answered the question about marketing their books online with some version of "I have a web page," and perhaps an "I have a Facebook," I raised my hand and asked, "I’ve heard it said that the children’s book online community can be a little . . . in-bred. That is, authors friend authors on LJ and Facebook, comment on each other’s blogs and do blog tours, do interviews with reviewer bloggers, but who is the audience that these blogs reach? How do your directly reach your readers online?"

(I admit, it was a loaded question, because I’ve seen authors use the web in some very innovative ways to reach their teen readers, especially, and part of the answer to that for younger readers isn’t a direct answer because gatekeepers are involved.)

But I’d like to open up the question to you guys. Let’s brainstorm and really think about how to use these new technologies in a way that reaches teens. And how do you go beyond the message of "buy, buy, buy" (which is good for paying your bills, but there is something very commercial about that which I don’t think we really aspire to openly in the book world), and make it a more general message, yet still reach them about your book?

There are already some great examples of authors doing things that reach their readers directly–I’ll name a few off the top of my head: Readergirlz, Scott Westerfeld’s blog, Shannon Hale’s blog, several communities on Facebook. How do these accomplish what they do, and is there a way of extending their reach or following their example? How did Scott and Shannon attract so many readers–do teens look up their favorite author and see if he or she has a blog, or did the blog attract the teen first and then they became a reader of the books?

And what’s up with Twitter? I haven’t really had a chance to check it out yet. How might Twitter be used to reach teen readers?

Those are just a few questions I have, and I’m hoping to open up a discussion here and on Facebook, where this blog is imported as a note. I’ve seen these questions asked again and again on listservs I’ve been on, but usually in the context of librarianship, and I’m wondering how authors specifically can use these tools to reach readers.

- Stacy

I’m back from my trip to New York City. It was really nice to see everyone, and those of you I missed, I’m sure I’ll catch you on the next trip, which I’ll take more time to plan. 🙂 I also made it to The Strand for the first time, and wow! I think I want to live there. Just set up my little leather chair and ottoman and read to my heart’s content. I took some pictures with my cell phone, but I need to find my microdisc adapter before I can post them. It’s just a 2 megapixel little cell phone, not my regular nice camera, so the clarity isn’t so hot, but it was fun to memorialize a little of my trip.

There are some things in the works which I’m not ready to talk about on the blog yet, but hopefully I’ll be able to post about them soon when I get all the information together.

In the meantime, I was thinking about all the reading that I’ve done recently, and it occurred to me that this is the perfect place to talk to bookish people about all those good books.

So: what have I read lately?

Alcatraz vs. the Scrivener’s Bones by Brandon Sanderson. Disclaimer: Brandon is a friend of mine from college. But who cares? Whether I know him or not, the book is funny–even funnier than the first book, Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians (well, disclaimer on that too: I read book 1 in draft form, so I bet book 1 in print is even funnier).

I got started on Bad Kitty by Michelle Jaffe (the YA novel, not the picture book) before the flood happened, and I haven’t had a chance to finish it yet. So that goes back in the TBR list (i.e., books I want to read but don’t have physical copies for for the TBR pile). As far as I read, I was enjoying the snarky teen girl voice.

The Luxe by Anna Godberson. I had expectations going into the paperback version–because I think I had read spoiler at some point–that were conf
irmed by the end, but despite my expectations being confirmed I loved the way this story was told. One thing I did not expect was five different viewpoints, but it was really amazing how it all fit together so well, despite the different characters’ vastly different agendas. We in publishing can often make generalizations about the number of viewpoints a book should have; this book is a great example of the exception to he rule. If you’re thinking about doing more than one viewpoint in a book you’re currently working on, The Luxe is one to look at as a craft example. I’ve been told that its sequel, Rumors, is even better, so that goes in the TBR list.

Currently reading

Lamplighter by D.M. Cornish. The sequel to Monster Blood Tattoo (or Foundling, as it’s now called, and now the series name is Monster Blood Tattoo), which I heard on audio. Highly recommend that listening experience–I loved the narrator. I’m not very far into Lamplighter yet so I can’t really comment on it–yet!

Skinned by Robin Wasserman. Seems like science fiction for teens is taking a turn from the dystopian, which I’m really glad to see. There’s so much more to science fiction than that one subgenre. So far so good–the main character Lia Kahn is in an accident that nearly kills her and her consciousness is downloaded into a new body. It’s almost a zombie meets an android, I suppose–it almost fits in with books like Zombie Blondes and Generation Dead, but not quite–so if you have readers who liked those books this might be one of those "if you liked _________ then you might enjoy ________" recommendations (depending on the reader, of course). It looks like it’s going to tackle some interesting subjects while Lia deals with being dead, but not dead.

On the TBR pile/list (not comprehensive! 🙂 and amazingly enough, they’re not all YA)

Manolito Four-Eyes by Elvira Lindo
How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justina Larbalestier
The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie by David Lubar (this looks HILARIOUS)–ARC for the book coming out Aug. 2009, so no link yet
Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi (a YA branch-off in the world of Old Man’s War)
Veil of Lies: A Medieval Noir by Jeri Westerson
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (which I’ve been meaning to read for a couple years, and wanted to read before the election)
Lord Loss by Darren Shan
Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett (this is an ARC–the book doesn’t come out until March of 2009)
Minders of Make-Believe by Leonard S. Marcus (another one that I started before the flood but hadn’t gotten through before all the craziness began. I fou
nd it at The Strand for $13! I heart The Strand!)
The Good Neighbors–Book One: Kin by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (which also looks hilarious–stories about geeky life). Also, another ARC for a book coming out Aug. 2009, so no link yet.
Sovay by Celia Rees. This looks awesome, but I haven’t started it yet. It’s about a rich teen girl in the late 1700s who becomes a highway robber. If you’ve read Witch Child, it’s the same author. I LOVED Witch Child, though its sequel, Sorceress, wasn’t as strong. I haven’t had a chance to read Pirates! but I’ve heard good things about it.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. I’ve been meaning to read Grace Lin’s books for a while, so I’m excited to get a chance to read the ARC of her new book, which comes out next year.
Meg Cabot’s 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series.

Oh, and another reason I love The Strand? Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day? for $10.50. Not even Amazon has that price. I had this book as a kid but I can’t find my copy of it. I also had the fairy tale book–little kitty as Little Red Riding Hood? It was awesome! I didn’t go looking for it, though. Too much temptation, if I found the Richard Scarry section. I
didn’t go with a lot of extra money in my pocket. But oh, the temptation! I think this is an updated version of a book my brother and sister and I had as kids. My brother had Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. I think one of these days I need to get them all and do an homage post to Richard Scarry.

Howl’s Castle and the House of Many Ways

- Stacy

For fans of Howl’s Moving Castle, have you read House of Many Ways yet? It’s the sequel to Howl and I must say a right smashing one. The style is very different–much more sparse than Howl, as I recall, though it’s been a few years since I read Howl and I’m always getting the most excellent book mixed up with Miyazaki’s equally excellent but extremely different anime interpretation, which I checked out from the library at the same time as the new book. I do remember the reading of Howl to be a much longer, more complicated reading experience than reading House (i.e., the story was less linear, the language more complicated, as I remember it).

However, different does not equal bad. In this case, it is a far, far better appelation I seek. It’s set in another country in Howl and Sophie’s world, and though Howl and Sophie do make significant appearances, it’s not their story–their story has been told and they’ve gotten their happily ever after (if one can be s
aid to be had for anyone in Diana Wynne Jones’s worlds–there’s always something after the end of her stories!), and this story is about another girl, Charmaine, who isn’t quite so endearing as Sophie was–in fact, she’s rather annoying–in a good way! Jones is great at writing annoying characters that you cheer for. She’s sent to watch over her great-uncle-by-marriage’s house, who happens to be a wizard. Being a wizard, the great-uncle’s house does have some surprising magical qualities of its own that grow in magnitude (well, they don’t actually grow, but the characters’ perceptions of them grow) over the course of the book. But Charmaine doesn’t really want to be helping her wizard great uncle; she wants to work in the royal library, and she gets a surprising reply to her letter that invites her to help the princess and the king sort through some royal papers to solve a mystery.

Add in danger from a lubbock and possible lubbockin, fantastic and mean creatures that live up on the hills and prey upon humans, and Charmaine’s adversarial relationship with her great uncle’s apprentice (whose name I can’t seem to find and I’ve already returned the book), and it all comes together quite nicely.

In googling the book, I realized that Castle in the Air is also set in the same world, which I didn’t r
ealize before. Well, then! I’ll just have to do some more reading!